Ideas. Technology. Theory. Practice.

Poetry and Digital Reality

It is the third commonness with light and air,
A curriculum, a vigor, a local abstraction . . .
Call it, one more, a river, an unnamed flowing,

Space-filled, reflecting the seasons, the folk-lore
Of each of the senses; call it, again and again,
The river that flows nowhere, like a sea.*

The work of certain modernist poets exhibits a tenuous connection to reality. Yet I savor the breaking thoughts, the turn of a phrase that flirts with reality, then, suddenly, darts quickly to a seemingly unrelated idea. No obvious connection to a story; no claim of an immutable truth; no need to declare allegiance to one particular point-of-view.

In the elearning world, we have curricular and local abstractions to consider and analyze; and we possess the digital tools necessary to share our discoveries without the boundaries of time or geography. The digital revolution disrupts conventions- routinely; but it also provides a feast for the mind.

In the evolving mythology of computers and networks, the mind and the computer network are becoming one, reflecting not the folklore of the senses, but the folklore of every pore of our being. The human brain’s plasticity is a matter of science. On the other hand, the influence of an electronic network on the growth of the human brain, at this point, lies closer to the realm of metaphor and poetry than it does to the realm of science. This is good: eLearning benefits from both metaphor and science.

We have every right to dream wildly about the profound influence that elearning may yet have on stimulating dramatic increases in our intellectual capacities. But we aren’t quite there yet. In the meantime, I’m going to stay tuned to my network and see if my brain can gain any traction.